Breton Insurgency

The Breton Insurgency was a rebellion in France that occurred in the Department of Bretagne in northwest France in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. The British general Michael Stowell liberated Brittany and conquered Normandy, and gave support to the rebels from Caen.

Background
Napoleon desired glory in the east, marching on Russia. It was Britain's strategic obligation to help their allies and divert Napoleon's troops. The military advisors concluded that the best way of doing so was to land an invasion force in Brittany, drawing away some of Napoleon's troops westwards and giving their allies some room to breathe.

General Michael Stowell and a British army of 20,000 troops landed in Brittany with the goal of capturing Rennes from the small garrison of French militiamen under Charles Ambroise Moreau, and they laid siege to the city in June. The garrison surrendered without a fight and the British government chose to liberate Brittany, creating the Kingdom of Brittany under King Ilbert.

Shortly after, British spies reported detachments of Fusiliers from Napoleon's army moving westward. The British took the opportunity to extract a kind donation from the local population. The region might not have been affluent with wealth, but they gave what they could to the Crown in order to cover their war expenses.

War
The only major military force in northern France was under the command of Michel Ney, who had 8,200 troops to face the 24,000 British troops under General Stowell. Ney marched on Caen and reached the outskirts of the city, but before he could lay siege to the city, Stowell attacked Ney and defeated his army, albeit heavy losses. Ney's defeat left northern France empty of a major army, as the only large army was located in Paris itself.